Court orders Central Coventry fire truck returned

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Over the objections of the firefighters union, a Superior Court judge Tuesday ordered the cash-strapped Central Coventry Fire District to return an aerial platform truck to the manufacturer.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Over the objections of the firefighters union, a Superior Court judge Tuesday ordered the cash-strapped Central Coventry Fire District to return an aerial platform truck to the manufacturer.

Judge Brian P. Stern approved a request by Special Master Richard Land, who is running the district on a day-to-day basis, to send the truck back to its manufacturer, Pierce Manufacturing. The truck was purchased in 2009 for $860,724, with annual payments of $97,057.

The newly elected board of directors for the district voted unanimously to return the truck at a July 15 meeting.

The union argued that the truck, the only one of its kind in the town, is necessary to the safety of the fire district.